Weekly Market and a Little Self-Care

Another beautiful day so we headed to the Friday market in one of the old squares here. We love looking at all the interesting options that the locals are selling.... several large seafood stands, one entirely devoted to cheese, another had a large selection of dried fruits and nuts. And of course, wonderful fuits and veggies. But the table with the most activity was the one with non-Belgian candy. I saw people snatching up bags of Snickers and M&M's like crazy. I guess the locals don't buy their chocolate at the fancy (and expensive) chocolate shops where the tourists go.

The little tarts above are a local pastry we've seen everywhere and they are amazing. The filling is just like rice pudding.

One booth at the market that caught my eye sold burgers, hotdogs, and..... escargot? I'm thinking this isn't the place for escargot but ..... whatever.

After the market, I had to finally admit to myself that I needed to rest. My bursitis in my hip had gone from annoying to downright painful after a day of biking followed by the dune climbing on the coast plus those darn cobblestone streets. So I headed to the local pharmacy and loaded up on ice/heat packs and something for sore joints and headed for the couch. We took a few short excursions around town but otherwise that is where I spent my day. Of course, Dr. Google recommends rest for several weeks but that's just not happening. I'm sure another cortosone shot is in my future but that will have to wait.

I did manage to shuffle off to a place close by for lunch. Guess all I did all day was eat. We went to Frites Altier which is a very popular Belgian chain. Their specialty is, of course, frites. And the one they are famous for is the one that comes with Flemish stew on top. Is sounds (and looks) gross but it tastes just like pot roast and potatoes. You can get other toppings too but we shared this one and we both thought it was better than we expected. We also tried shrimp croquettes which are on every menu here and didn't care for them.

We returned to Meme Gusto, the restaurant downstairs, for dinner last night. Greg wanted the steak bernaise and I just had the white asparagus appetizer which was so good. The stuff on the top is chopped hardboiled eggs with parsley and butter. And then the white creamy stuff they described to me as "beer mouse" although to me it had very little taste. All together the dish was so simple yet Greg and I thought it was the delicious and the best thing we ordered.

Just a random shop here that I liked...

It's now Saturday morning, and I'm feeling better so we're off to another day trip.